Pieces of Home: Cake, Mysteries and Obama

(Caution: This entry contains only lighthearted thoughts.

Just a little levity this time around, hope that's ok!)

Confession #1: Last night my friend Hannah and I made a layered red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. 

Yes, we're still in Africa! We had discovered the crew galley, you see; a small kitchen with every kind of bakeware you could possibly require. And the ship shop onboard the Africa Mercy sells cake mixes. Like exactly what you might pick off the shelves of Safeway. So yesterday we grabbed the red velvet as though it were the last box on earth and gleefully made our way to the kitchen! 

There has always been something soothing about baking treats, for me. Maybe it's the smell, or the the predictability of recipes. Regardless, something about it feels familiar and comforting, like a hug from mom. So, discovering I could bake here was like having a direct link to home, as though I could make my way back there. We presented that velvety, cream cheesy goodness to the group of us that arrived here together, in celebration of our three week anniversary of being aboard the Africa Mercy. And it was delicious.

Confession #2: I love Agatha Christie's murder mysteries.

I have no recollection of when I first became acquainted with this woman's works, but ever since I first followed her inquisitive and somewhat cheeky Belgian detective Hercule Poirot on the hunt for "who-dunn-it" on the Orient Express, I was hooked. And then just as quickly, she fell into the periphery and finally the background of my mind's eye. School, work, and other more pressing literature eclipsed her entirely. 

Then, two weeks ago, I was perusing the small yet mighty library on the ship, and what do you know? There it was, all in a row: Agatha Christie's Murder Mystery Classics Collection. Ha! After reading the first book in three days, I've had one at my bedside without fail. It's been just delightful.

Confession #3: I went to the Obama Cafe and I liked it.

This past Friday a big troupe of us left the ship for an evening out in Conakry. We made our way along the coast south of the port and found ourselves at a little seaside restaurant and bar called the Obama Cafe...yep! It's an open air establishment, all wood and stilts and bungalow appeal, perched precariously over the ocean with the slimmest little plank bridge leading out to it. In the daylight, this sight could strike fear into the heart of any would-be patron afraid of water. But not us!

Expat locale, the Obama Cafe

The dozen of us Mercy Shippers clambered into this little place, which was already packed to capacity (Maybe 50? There are no fire marshals here that I know of). We enjoyed drinks and live reggae music, played a round of the hand game and then got up to enjoy the band a bit closer. Near the end of the evening the power went out, and the whole room spontaneously carried on singing "No Woman No Cry" while the band played the drums. Priceless.

Michelle O. keepin' it classy

So while we encounter hard things everyday, I thought it important to put out a lighter note and let everyone know we're having a great time. Truly! It's not home, but the little tastes of home remind me that God thinks of the littlest things. Even red velvet cake :)